Roughing machine



Nov. 13, 1962 w. w. PRUE 3,063,073

ROUGHING MACHINE Filed Dec. 19, 1960 INVEN TOR.

fy' mam filihcuy United States Patent cc 3,063,073 ROUGHING MACHINEWaiter W. Prue, 331 Minot Ave., Auburn, Maine Filed Dec. 19, 1960, Ser.No. 76,598 1 Claim. (Cl. 12-17) This invention relates to a machine foruse in the manufacture of shoes, and more especially to a roughingmachine of the kind shown in my Patent No. 2,840,835.

In the foregoing patent, there is shown a machine for roughing themarginal edge of a covering material applied to one side of a bottomelement, for example an insole or platform, so that when the margin isfolded over onto the opposite side for attachment of an outsole thereto,the surface will afford good anchorage for the adhesive. The aforesaidmachine has a support in the form of a disc against the peripheral edgeof which an edge of the backing is held and a diametrical surface uponwhich the marginal edge of the covering rests while the backing is beingmoved relative to the support. The diametrical surface of the supportcontains a shallow annular groove which is transversely concave and anabrading element is arranged adjacent thereto, so that a portion of itis concentric with the curvature of the groove and has contact with themarginal edge of the covering resting across the groove. There is meansfor moving the abrading element in a direction toward the center of thediametrical surface to exert a stress on the margin which tends to pullthe margin inwardly between the concentric portions of the abradingelement and the support. The annular groove provides a very satisfactorystructure for roughing insoles and the like where the contour of theedge is alternately convex and concave and Where the curvature is ofrelatively long radius.

This invention has for its object to provide an apparatus of theforegoing kind with an improved support adapted particularly forroughing the marginal edges of coverings applied to heels, wherein theradius of curvature is relatively short and always convex, andcomprises, as herein shown, providing a supporting disc, the diametricalsurface of which is characterized in that it has a concave recess, thecenter of which coincides with the axis of rotation of the disc, asdistinguished from the annular groove of the aforesaid patent. Theapparatus is further characterized in that the disc is supported on ahorizontal axis for rotation about its axis. The abrading wheel ismounted on a horizontal axis at right angles to the axis of the disc,and the center of the abrading wheel is at the center of curvature ofthe concave recess in the supporting disc.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference tothe accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary vertical section to large scale showing thesupporting disc, a portion of the abrading wheel and a portion of thework with the margin of the cover situated between the disc and theabrading wheel;

PEG. 2 is an elevation taken from the left-hand side of FIG. 1, with theabrading wheel omitted, showing the position of the disc with referenceto the projecting margin of a heel;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary section of the work after abrading, showingremoval of the coating on a coated fabric; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary section similar to FIG. 3, showing the coveringfolded over onto the underside of the backing.

Referring to the drawings, there is a work support in the form of arigid disc 12, fixed to one end of a shaft 14, for rotation about ahorizontal axis. Rotation of the disc is effected by a beveled gear 16formed integral with 3,063,073 Patented Nov. 13, 1962 its rear sidewhich meshes with a beveled gear 18 fastened to the upper end of a shaft20.

The forward diametrical surface 22 of the disc 12 is concave and theperipheral surface has a radially projecting shoulder 24. The shoulderis herein shown integral with the disc, however, it may be in the formof a ring fastened to the disc, for example, by a setscrew. The abradingwheel, herein shown at 26, is a wire brush mounted for rotation on ahorizontal axis at right angles to the axis of the shaft 14, the centerof which coincides with the center of curvature of the concave surface22 of the disc 10 so that the peripheral surface 27 of the brush and theconcave surface 22 are concentric and so that the peripheral surface ofthe brush travels close to the concave surface of the disc.

A heel block 28, such as shown in FIG. 2, with a flexible covering 30applied to its side, with its margin projecting beyond the top andbottom surfaces, is presented to the apparatus as shown in FIGS. 1 and2, in such fashion that the projecting margin m extends downwardly fromthe upper side of the disc 12 between its concave surface 22 and theconvex surface 27 of the abrading wheel. The abrading wheel 26 is drivenin a clockwise direction as shown in FIG. 1 so that it applies a forceto the margin which tends to pull it down between the disc and the brushand hence to hold the surface of the heel against the disc. Removal orabrading of the surface of the covering material immediately adjacentthe corner is prevented by the shoulder 24 which holds the heel awayfrom the concave surface 22 sutficiently so that the portion of thecovering next to the corner is not exposed to abrasion and hence can bewrapped around the corner as shown in FIG. 4.

To facilitate feeding the work the disc 12 is driven in a direction toassist in moving the heel peripherally throughout the entire length ofthe projecting margin. A guard 34 is mounted at the upper side of theabrading wheel to prevent accidental injury to the operator by contactwith the rapidly rotating brush.

The disposition of the supporting disc 12 for rotation about ahorizontal axis, that is, with its concave surface 22 substantiallyperpendicular, makes it possible to abrade the marginal edge of the heelcovering much more expeditiously than could be performed on the priormachine since the provision of the concave surface 22 rather than theannular concave groove makes it possible to turn the relatively sharpradius of curvature at the top and bottom surfaces of the heel with agreater degree of accuracy than was possible on the prior machine.

The heel shown herein, known as a wedge heel, is for the purpose ofillustration only, the machine being adapted to be used for roughing themarginal edge of covering material applied to any type of heel or otherobject especially when the edge of the article is curved and the radiusof curvature is relatively short.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purposeof illustration only and that this invention includes all modificationsand equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

Apparatus for roughing the marginal edge of a flexible covering attachedto one side of a rigid backing with its edge extending beyond thebacking, comprising a rigid, rotatable supporting disc having aperipheral edge against which an edge of the backing is held and adiametrical side against which the margin of the covering rests whilethe edge of the backing is engaged with the edge of the disc, anabrading wheel arranged with its peripheral edge adjacent thediametrical side of the disc for contact with the margin restingthereon, means for rotating the abrading wheel in a direction to exert aforce on the margin toward the center of the disc so as to hold thebacking engaged with the edge thereof, and means for turning the disc ina direction to assist in advancing the backing peripherally; theimprovement comprising, said diametrical side of the disc having auniformly smooth, spherically concave surface concentric with the axisof rotation and extending entirely across the surface of said disc, andthe center of rotation of the abrading 4 Wheel coinciding with thecenter of curvature of the concave surface of the disc so that theperipheral surface of the abrading wheel and said concave surface of thedisc are concentric.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,840,835 Prue July 1, 1958

